An Illinois woman's successful weight-loss story has gone global, after Shape magazine refused to post the fitness blogger's bikini picture.

Brooke Birmingham, who has lost 170 pounds, said Shape told her they wanted to feature her in their "success story" column.

She agreed, but just days after she sent the photo of her in a bathing suit, she received an email from the Shape reporter asking for a different photo.

When the magazine's reporter spoke with Birmingham, she said her editors told her it's company policy to show success stories of women wearing a shirt. But Birmingham said several of the stories feature women in bathing suits.

The photo Birmingham sent in shows excess skin around her waist, something common in rapid weight loss.

A representative from Shape disagrees with Birmingham's account.

"This is a result of a misunderstanding with a freelance writer," a spokesperson for the magazine said via an email statement to Yahoo Shine. "This does not represent Shape’s editorial values, and the comments made about Shape’s 'editorial policy' are absolutely untrue. Shape prides itself on empowering and celebrating women like Brooke, and any indication that we would not run the piece with the photo provided was wrong, as we would have been proud to share her inspirational story."

Since the story broke, Birmingham's Facebook page has gotten thousands of followers, and she's been interviewed by media outlets around the world.